INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH X 229

Volume : 4 | Issue : 6 | June 2014 | ISSN - 2249-555X

RESEARCH PAPER
Study of Coastal Sand Spits in Devbag and Kolamb
of Malvan, Maharashtra
* Jagdish B. Sapkale Madhuri M. Mane
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Shivaji
University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
* Corresponding Author
Ph.D Student, Department of Geography, Shivaji
University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
KEYWORDS
Sand spits, Wave energy, Littoral currents, Longshore drift
Geography
ABSTRACT The coastline of Maharashtra is specically marked with a diversity of geomorphological features with dif-
ferentiates coastal landforms. Coastal landforms are produced due to equilibrium condition of erosional and
depositional processes which are inuenced by the sea waves and tidal energy. The beaches, sand dunes, sand-spits, bars
are the depositional landforms of the shoreline. Among them sand spit is a linear accretion of mixed sediments that is at-
tached to land at one end and entered into sea or in the estuary at the mouth. Sand spits signicantly protects the mudats,
coastal settlements and estuarine environments from the sea storms and attacking sea waves. But it has observed that the
sand spits are degraded at many places in the study area, Therefore, attempted to study the coastal sand spits in the coastal
areas of Malvan in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
INTRODUCTION
The coastal landforms are continuously attacked by sea waves
and destructive tidal currents, leads to change the shoreline.
Coastline of Maharashtra is noticeable with headlands, steep
cliffs, sand bars, beaches, spits, tombolo and much other
coastal landscape. This shoreline is also under threats due
to uncontrolled anthropogenic disturbances too. Sand spits
in Kolamb and Devbag of Malvan coast have considered for
the study (Fig. 1). Numerous research works have been done
on sand spits and their signicance by many authors. A spit is
a part of sand accumulation with one end joins to the shore
and other end free where it tops with a hook like shape. The
spit extends in the direction of longshore sediment drift and
can be associated across the direction of prevailing winds
and waves. These spits developed across the bay/creek or
estuaries mouth and extend in the direction of the littoral
drift (Thomson, 1981).
Generally sand spits form where obliquely incident waves are
dominant and a large amount of sediment is supplied from
rivers or coastal cliffs to the channel or the bay/ creek (Uda
and Yamamoto, 1992) .The formation process of sand spits
and their changing characteristics in terms of morphological
change in shoreline landforms have documented by John-
son (1919) and Zenkovich (1967). The sand spit occurs at the
mercy of tidal currents and winds. Longshore and tidal cur-
rents supply the sand,
and westerly and southwesterly winds spread it over the spit
(Heyligers, 2006). In view of this, the south-western winds are
more dominant and inuenced on the aggradation and deg-
radation of sand spits in the study area. In the study sites
mudat, salt marshes etc are protected by the sand spits and
sand bars. Mudats are the temporary accumulations of thick
ne-sediment with organic matter, clay and silt that form sub-
circular depositional areas along the estuaries and at the
mouth of the estuaries extended upto the offshore zone
(Sapkale, 2011). Therefore in view of sand spits signicant
role to protect the wetlands and estuarine environment the
present research has attempted.
METHODOLOGY
The eld investigation consisting of observation and inter-
views for collecting information/identication of sand spits
have carried out in the study area. Data regarding variation
in sand spits for past years have generated by using Remote
230 X INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH
Volume : 4 | Issue : 6 | June 2014 | ISSN - 2249-555X
RESEARCH PAPER
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REFERENCE [1] Heyligers, P. C. (2006), Primary vegetation development on the sand spit of Shallow Inlet, Wilsons Promontory, southern Victoria,
Cunninghamia 9(4): 571596. | [2] Johnson, D.W. (1919): Shore Processes and Shoreline Development, Wiley, New York, 584p. [Facsimile
edition: Hafner, New York (1965)]. | [3] Sapkale, J.B. (2011), Study of Coastal Landforms and its Associated Features in Ratnagiri-Raigad District, Maharashtra;
Research Link. Issue-88-A, Vol-X (5) July 2011, 65-68. | [4] Thomson, R.E. (1981), Oceanography of the British Colombia Coast; Canadian special publication of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 56, pg 32. | [5] Uda, T. and K. Yamamoto (1992): Beach changes around a sand spit - The example of Mihono-Matsubara, Coastal Eng.
in Japan, Vol. 35, No.l, pp. 111-128. | [6] Zenkovich, V.P. (1967): Processes of Coastal Development, Oliver & Broyd, Edinburgh, 738p. |
Sensing data and Remote Sensing images i.e. IRS LISS III,
and Google earth images. The collected data and infor-
mation has analyzed with statistical and GIS softwares like
Global mapper. Surveying was also carried out using Transit
Theodolite and GPS to assess the variation in sand spit area
and its extension.

TABLE 1: EXTENT OF SAND SPITS
Year
Area (sq.metre) of Sand Spits
Kolamb Devbag
2003 (2004*) 14197 27534*
2011 7912 31200
2013 14806 21409
Average 12305 26714
Source: Computed from google images and Field Survey-
ing

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table No.1 shows the different period and year wise exten-
sion of sand spits at Kolamb and Devbag (Fig 2). The area of
sand spits towards estuarine side and its tip have measured
and it reveals that the sand spit of Kolamb is smaller than the
spit of Devbag, as it is located near the mouth of small tidal
inlet/estuary, kolamb (Fig 3). During Dec 2003 the area of
Kolambs spit was 14197 square metres which was reduced
to 7912 square metres during March 2011. The spit washed
out due to longshore currents and sea waves at this site. Inner
side of the spits tip was more or less eroded by the currents
of the estuary. But after next two years the area was increased
to 14806 square metres during Dec 2013 and appears like a
spoon shape. The spit of Devbag is located at the mouth of
Karli estuary which carries tremendous load from its upstream
side and pours the heavy discharge into the sea at Devbag.
Uneven size of material also deposited at this location with
ne and coarser sand. Table 1 indicates that during March
2004 the area of Devbags sand spit was 27534 square me-
tres that has increased to 31200 square metres during May
2011. This also shows the continuous growth of the sand spit.
But during Dec 2013 the area of sand spit was decreased to
21409 square metres. The material is drifted from the inner
side of spit due to littoral currents moving like a bullet and
eroding the base of spit in terms of lateral erosion (Fig 4).
The foremost destruction and erosion of sand spit at Devbag
occurs due to attacking powerful sea waves and currents that
generated due to south western wind. Manmade interven-
tion is also one of the causes for the destruction of sand spit.
Now there is a threat to spit and other estuarine

environment at this location due to newly introduced water
sports activities that have started at the small island of Karli
estuary, just few metres in upstream side of the mouth. The
sediments and sea waves are disturbed due to this activity
and inuenced on the erosional and depositional processes
at the site. The large-Giant Sand bags of different sizes with
insitu sand are used to protect the sand spit and beaches
from the active wave action and minimize the erosion in the
study area. As a result of these articial protective sand bags,
the accumulation of sand on the sand spit have also seen at
this site (Fig 5).
CONCLUSIONS
Erosion and deposition are combined processes that take
place in the study area. The decreased area of Devbags sand
spit during Dec 2013 as compare to May 2011 in terms of
its extension shows its endangered condition. Such reduced
size of the sand spit at Devbag due to natural erosion and
human interruptions has produced challenges to protect the
sand dune in the study area. Inventive practices should be
undertaken for the conservation of such coastal landform.